On Wednesday,听Yosemite Superintendent Don Neubacher that he's听stepping听down from his post,听effective immediately.听His resignation comes after the federal government launched an investigation听into sexual-misconduct allegations from female park employees at Yosemite and other parks across the country.听
鈥淚 regret leaving at this time, but want to do what鈥檚 best for Yosemite National Park,鈥 Neubacher wrote in the statement to Laura Joss, the听National Park Service Pacific West regional director,听and his staff. 鈥淚t is an iconic area that is world renowned and deserves special attention.鈥
Neubacher听agreed to resign听鈥渋n order to preserve the听integrity of the ongoing investigation into allegations of a hostile work environment at Yosemite,鈥 Pacific West regional spokesman Andrew Munoz wrote in an email to 国产吃瓜黑料. Neubacher was offered a position as senior advisor to NPS听Deputy Director Michael Reynolds, but has opted to retire on October 31 instead.听His 37-year career included听stints at the Presidio of San Francisco, Point Reyes National Seashore, Glacier Bay National Park, and Yosemite.
In his statement, Neubacher said his staff had done 鈥渋ncredible work鈥 over the past six years,听referencing听the approval of the Wild and Scenic River Plans for the Merced and Tuolumne rivers and the Mariposa Grove restoration project.听NPS听has hired Linda Mazzu, Yosemite鈥檚 Chief, Division of Resource Management and Science, as the interim acting superintendent at Yosemite. Woody Smeck, superintendent of Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, will become acting superintendent at Yosemite starting October 16.
The shakeup comes one week after an听Oversight and Government Reform committee hearing where听lawmakers grilled park service听officials about similar sexual-harassment听allegations that have been made听this year at other parks. Munoz says the Park Service is taking a 鈥渃omprehensive approach to address and prevent sexual harassment and hostile work environments.鈥
At the hearing, a full-time staffer at Yellowstone submitted听a outlining a pattern of sexual harassment against female federal workers at the park, saying he has come to expect 鈥渘on-accountability鈥 and 鈥渇ailure鈥 on the part of park administrators to impose consequences for misconduct. In his statement, engineering-equipment operator Robert Hester told the committee he witnessed a 鈥渕en鈥檚 only club鈥 in which, among other indiscretions, a female employee “was kept drunk by our supervisor” while they were involved in a听relationship. According to his听statement, the woman was later fired.
鈥淔rom the date I started to work at the park, I was shocked and amazed at what I saw and heard in regard to the talk and acceptance of sexual exploitation of female workers,鈥 Hester wrote.
On Tuesday, the Interior Department鈥檚 Office of Inspector General sent investigators to Yellowstone to check Hester鈥檚 claims. That probe comes months after similar听allegations of rampant sexual misconduct at Grand Canyon and Yosemite national parks. In both cases, women were reportedly propositioned for sex and retaliated against when they reported听incidents to supervisors.